Posted by
Elana Safronsky, Managing Editor
Sunday, September 13, 2009 11:10 AM EDT
I can’t say I’ve discovered them, or that they’re a hidden gem, as SOHO Art & Custom Framing has been lauded by such sources as FLARE, Globe and Mail and Debbie Travis, but I can make sure that you all know of this incredible resource.
Located in Toronto but with reach across the country (you can ship unframed prints from their vaults no problem; framed prints are a bit trickier), SOHO has a very au-courant eye for what you want on your walls. They’ve both fun and trendy items such as the “Keep Calm and Carry On” craze, as well as a solid base of poster catalogues of international licensed art and design images, original art, and work by local graphics designers.
Clockwise from the top; Mid Century inspired prints by BlueAntStudio.com, $45, unframed; prints from Vintage Catalogue and Bruce McGraw, various prices; Lady Bug mouse, $35; limited edition Radio Print by photographer/artist John W. Golden, $75, framed; kids drawing station; Keep Calm and Carry On paraphernalia, various prices; wall of framed ready-to-sell offerings.
Two of their main stays are the Vintage Posters catalogue offering prints of bygone adds in any size, (prices ranging between $15 for 6X8, to $359 for 42X60, unframed), and the huge library that is the Bruce McGaw Graphics catalogue. Bruce McGaw Graphics is one of the world’s biggest publishers and distributors of museum and contemporary art prints - over 20,000! - including photographs from London National Gallery, pieces form the MOMA, Musee de Beaux-Arts and the Tate, as well as the entire Disney estate for good measure.
From the left; black in-house trim - 16X20, under $65; ROMA Olive veneers -- 16X20, $161; gilded/gold-leafed - $ A lot.
That’s the left arm of the business. The right arm is framing. As such they’re a complete conservation (all things acid-free available) operation, with tools to turn a frame around the same day. No frame snob I know (including my photographer husband who usually deals with an obsessive, eccentric lifetime framer named George) can find fault with their trims, which range from the classic in-house black (very affordable) to eco-friendly options, to the ROMA line of Florentine, handmade olive veneers and gilded/gold-leafed luxuries.
Also, my kid loves it in there because they’ve a cute drawing station and a quirky collection of novelty objects such as the cardboard moose head, “Barbapoppa” collectors figures, hot pepper, lady bug and koi fish computer mice, and Keep Calm and Carry On on everything from baby onezies to mugs and tee-shirts.
SOHO Art & Custom Framing
77 Roncesvalles Ave.,
Toronto, ON
M6R 2K6
(416) 531-2047
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